


meet me at our spot

by gallade



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Dream's POV, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mildly Arousing Dreams, Oblivious George oop, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Slow Build, Supportive Sapnap, Unrequited Love, a whole lot of it to come hehe, bromances, constant inner turmoil, probably involves lots of songs i heard on tik tok
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:00:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27571165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gallade/pseuds/gallade
Summary: Sometimes sleep doesn't come, but other times it comes all too easily. Sometimes Clay remembers his dreams, and other times he's left wondering. Sometimes, he's left wanting. Despite all these "sometimes," one thing never changes: he has feelings for his best friend, and they aren't going away any time soon.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 122





	1. saw you in a dream

Some days Dream woke up with video games on his mind. Other days, he peered at the clock through blurry, sleep-ridden eyes and keeping up Patches’s feeding schedule was at the forefront of his mind. Though, for some odd reason, this morning his mind was teeming with one thing- or person- George.

It had to be something related to his dreams. The blonde usually didn’t have many, and those that he had the pleasure of remembering by the morning were few and far between (and also strange beyond description) so it wasn’t surprising that he woke up in a cold sweat with no memories of the content of his REM cycles. What was surprising was that George had presumably come up in one.

If only he’d known what that dream had been.

That idea of George being the first thing on his mind never left the YouTuber’s mind, not during a long shower or after going out for brunch with Drista. Now, Dream found himself sat in front of his PC, the tinny voices of his friends echoing from the headset on his head.

It wasn’t a bad thing that George was on his mind- with how much virtual time they spent together, it was inevitable that they’d pop up in a dream together, but something about the softness of the morning combined with thoughts of George’s beaming squinty-eyed smiles felt a little too intimate.

Again, it wasn’t a bad thing. It just stirred up feelings that Dream thought he’d long repressed. Perhaps there was always a tiny crush dwelling beneath the surface, but it was something Dream acknowledged and abandoned. George was straight. And if he’d had those sorts of thoughts, surely he’d bring it up just to clear the air. Right?

Dream buried his face in his hands, green light reflecting onto his front from the monitors in front of him. Then, the green shifted to teal. He looked up, hands moving from his face to drop onto the table in front of him. And there he was: the man of the hour. Or, his cheekily dressed avatar, at least.

“Hi, Dream,” George’s voice spilled over the headset, a nuance of amusement in his voice. “Whatcha doin’?”

The blonde couldn’t stop the smile that followed the man’s question. At least George wasn’t also drowning in his own mind, like Dream had been. Why would he be, after all?

“Nothing, sorry. Just got lost in thought,” Dream replied. He cleared his throat, one hand moving back to its respective position on the WASD keys and the other falling onto his mouse. “Ready to record?”

The whole day prior, they’d worked together to code a mod that spawned randomized mobs everywhere they looked. It was like some of the old videos- explosions everywhere, or chunks of the virtual earth disappearing- except this time, there was the tentative caution between an explosive creeper or a friendly sheep. George was most excited about this one, and Dream knew he was; ever since they’d finished perfecting every detail, George was the one who brought up the idea of filming the very next day.

That wasn’t a big deal to Dream. Usually, they’d spend a few days making sure every detail really was bug free, but when an ecstatic, all too melodic voice is ringing over the headset, who is he to say no? He’d usually do that for Sapnap too. Or Bad. He wasn’t giving George any special privileges. Or maybe he was just lying to himself.

Another noise brought Dream back to reality. The sound of someone connecting to the Discord call jarred him from his inner monologue, and the familiar voice following the tri-tone dissipated any internal conflict in Dream’s mind.

“Hi guys!” Sapnap’s voice rang out, sounding hurried, but as pleased as ever to chat with his friends. “Are you already recording? I’m sorry if I’m cutting in. George just told me about this one and it sounds really fun.”

“Hi, Sapnap!!” George exclaimed, even more excited than the man preceding him. “No, please join us. We’re just about to start.” His avatar idly punched at the grass, which Dream knew was an impatience quirk of George’s. That was settled, then.

Dream shifted his weight in his desk chair, leaning forward and testing his movement keys. Ready to go. “Okay. Ready?” the blonde asked, cursor hovering over his recording software.

“Yep!”

“Yeah!”

He clicked the record button, eyes returning back to the monitor with Minecraft on fullscreen. George’s avatar was stuck in a loop of jumping, while Sapnap punched in Dream’s direction. Let the video begin.

"In this video, we coded it so that wherever we look, a random mob will spawn,” Dream said, his intro voice equipped. “Can we beat Minecraft with mobs, both hostile and friendly, spawning around us at all times?”

\---

“God, that was tough,” Sapnap spoke, followed by a heavy sigh, after the recording had ended.

The three had met their virtual demise in The End with the dragon at half health. The spinning armor and foodstuff icons scattered near the portal were an indicator of their empty inventories. Dream had actually fallen first to a harem of endermen running after him, causing Sapnap to panic and hop right into purple pixels of dragon’s breath. George almost held on to victory, but a misfire from a strategically placed bed blew him into the air, and coincidentally right into the arms of a group of rogue zombies.

“We could try it again,” George suggested, but the groan in response from Sapnap suggested that that idea wasn’t a welcome one.

“I’m pooped,” Sap responded. “I’m also pissed at how I died.” A pause. “I’m gonna go get some more water real quick.”

After Sapnap’s mic muted, indicating he’d left, Dream was still left staring at the death screen, even though he knew George and Sapnap had already respawned back at the original starting point. He’d thought that a video would get his mind off of prior thoughts, but somehow George was still creeping into his mind.

What was that damn dream about? Why was he clinging onto something he couldn’t even remember? Their fans knew of the bromance between them, as well as their shared flirting with Sapnap, but it was nothing more than just friends. Still, Dream felt great satisfaction at throwing a suggestive statement in George’s direction and hearing the brunette grow flustered on the other end. It was even more entertaining to say something during a stream and watch the chat go wild.

And maybe it was kind of satisfying to see that happen. It had been a while since Dream had these thoughts, but it was something that he’d been able to suppress easily, since nothing could really come to fruition between the Minecraft buddies. They hadn’t even met in real life yet. Not much could happen between two block people on Minecraft.

“Dream?” George’s voice broke through his psyche once more. “You okay over there? You’re being awfully quiet.”

Dream’s green eyes unblurred, now focused on the death screen. He hit “Respawn” and was brought back to an oak forest, where Sapnap’s avatar was halfway up a hill and George was just a few blocks away, running in circles and punching grass blocks. Impatient.

“Yeah, all good here,” Dream responded. “Sorry. Just thinking again.”

A musical laugh sounded over the mic. “You’re thinking an awful lot today. ‘S not like you.” George sounded absolutely devilish on the other end. His avatar crouched, taking slow steps forward until their in-game faces met. White sunglasses phased into an all-green face as their avatars all but combined. George then spammed the shift button, his avatar crouching and uncrouching in a teabagging gesture.

“Shut up,” the blonde answered. He rubbed his eyes, as if it would clear his train of thought that still chugged on, despite how many times he wanted it to come to a halt. “And stop humping me. I’m fine, really. Just thinking about the editing I have to do.”

“Yeah, okay,” George chided back with a scoff. “Do you want to go again, though? I had a lot of fun. We can try one more time to beat it.”

The hopeful- almost pleading- tone made Dream’s heart palpitate. “Eh, we can, but I think Sapnap’s had enough for one day. It was kind of stressful. I don’t blame him.”

He wasn’t lying, either. All together, they probably shared the most amount of panicked yells and pleas for help out of all of the videos they’d ever filmed together. There was probably an error in the coding, because the amount of creepers seemed disproportionate to literally any other mob. No matter how many times Dream pleaded for a rabbit or a cow when he glanced at the crafting table to make a sword, it seemed there was a 50% chance something would be out to steal his hearts while he forged what he needed to.

“Ah,” George answered, a hint of unmasked disappointment in his voice. “That’s okay. I think we got some good content anyways.”

“We can try again tomorrow, if you want,” Dream answered, sitting back in his chair as he watched George sulk away in his crouched avatar’s state. “Or later, even. Just you and me.”

The avatar whipped around, nodding. The gesture made Dream crack a smile.

“Let’s do it!” The excitement in George’s voice made every explosion, every baby zombie, and every teleporting enderman worth the unsuccessful run.

Just then, the sound of a mic being nudged interrupted their chaste conversation. Sapnap was back.

“Sapnap! Dream and I are going to do another run tonight,” George said. Dream knew that he was smiling just by the intonation of his voice. “You in?”

There was a pause. “Mmm… Yeah, I guess I can do that,” Sapnap answered.

Maybe it wasn’t just Dream that was soft for that British accent and kind brown eyes. That thought drove a twinge of jealousy right through Dream’s heart, which was almost more displeasing. He shouldn’t be feeling like this over his best friend. After all, there was no way in hell that these feelings would ever be reciprocated, right? From George flirting with Belle Delphine on Twitter to poking fun at other members on the SMP about them needing girlfriends, there didn’t feel like a chance that George would be interested in his best friend, much less a man in general.

Not like it mattered. Dream kept trying to remind himself that it didn’t matter. That kind of thing would put a rift between them anyways. Dream wouldn’t let something like that happen. He’d reminded himself time and time again that these feelings would never be able to cultivate an actual relationship.

Ugh. _Maybe I just need to get laid_ , Dream thought, returning his head back into his clammy hands. Since when did his palms get so sweaty? Since when had his heartbeat picked up?

“Guys, I’m going to get off for a while,” Dream spoke into the mic, ignoring the exasperation evident in his voice. “Just ping me in the Discord when I need to get back on.”

“Okay, Dream,” George was the first to speak, now sounding like less of a jester and more like a concerned friend. “I’ll text you.”

“Bye, dude,” Sapnap replied. “Talk to you later.”

Dream disconnected from the call, pushing himself and the chair away from the desk. The thing that was most frustrating was that he didn’t know why he couldn’t stop thinking about George: how his eyes softened when he laughed, how half the Internet didn’t know about the smattering of freckles on his face because his webcam didn’t pick up the perfectly placed specks, and how George always and unequivocally made Dream smile or laugh when he really, truly needed it.

The blonde took off his headset and set it on the desk, leaving the monitors and their applications untouched. He fell onto his bed and onto the down comforter, the scent of chamomile detergent rising from the bedding. By now, the other two had disconnected from the Minecraft server, but even from his sprawled place on the bed, he watched as their two icons lit up with green borders as they conversed over the voice chat.

He felt almost disappointed that he didn’t meet the other two’s energy during the recording, so maybe it was a good thing that they were trying again later. Still, Dream worried that he was going to continue to get distracted by thinking about George in ways that were too intimate for Minecraft gameplay. It was incredibly hard to stay focused when a glimmering smile kept lighting up his mind.

That damned smile.

 _Bzz._ Dream’s phone vibrated beside his keyboard, and it felt like a task to get out of his burrow on the bed, but he rose anyway. He grabbed the device and returned right back to his chamomile-scented seclusion. The lock screen lit up with a few notifications: Twitch pinging _TommyInnit is live_ , a reminder to edit a video from half a week ago, and a text message from George.

**From: British George**

>> hi :) you good?

Dream ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair as he thought of a response, feeling the need to pull the hood of his hoodie up over his headset-dented strands and burrow into the fabric a little more.

His response took a few minutes, but it came nevertheless. Better late than never, right?

**To: British George**

>> Yeah... Just a lot on my mind

The response on the other end was almost instantaneous. Wow. So George wasn’t bullshitting when he actually seemed concerned.

**From: British George**

>> that’s not convincing at all lol. spill it

Okay, so maybe Dream’s text did come off a little on the edgy side. As he scrolled up to reread what he’d sent after a couple minutes of nothing but an empty mind, he cringed at the explicitly upset text. He cringed even more thinking about how similar it was to when people posted black screens to their Snapchats saying “don’t text.”

**To: British George**

>> Idk. I think the video just took a lot out of me too. It’s not that big of a deal tbh

**From: British George**

>> :/

>> clay

Dream waited for a moment to see if his friend was going to say anything else, but the three little dots in the speech bubble didn’t pop up again. Dream almost felt like he didn’t want to respond. George seemed to always read right through his lies, and Dream knew that this occasion would be no exception. Sometimes, it felt like George knew more about Dream than Dream did.

It also put a knot in his stomach that George used his real name. Dream knew that George wasn’t one to just throw it around; they were used to calling each other by their in-game names, and when a real name was used, it was either serious or probably a declaration of love or something. And Dream knew the latter wasn’t coming to him anytime soon.

**To: British George**

>> For real, don’t worry about me. I just woke up thinking about something and it hasn’t left my head all day. I think that’s why I died so early in the video :(

**From: British George**

>> like I said, spill. if you really don’t want to talk about it, it’s fine, I just want to know what’s going through your mind bc obviously it’s something worth talking abt

Dream took a moment to stare at the text, wondering if he should literally just send a game of 8-ball pool; that would be enough to distract the other man from the serious conversation, but he had a feeling George wasn’t going to let up this time. The man was competitive, but he also cared more for his friends than he would admit.

In an absolutely platonic way, of course.

The blonde put his phone aside, crawling under the heavy covers in the monitor-illuminated room before he reached for the device again. Patches, perhaps put off by the sulking vibes inside the room, hopped onto the bed and curled up near Dream’s feet. Her presence was much welcome during this moment of vulnerability.

**To: British George**

>> Was just thinking about you, I guess. Nothing weird. Just woke up and was thinking about how excited I was to play this mod today. It was really fun to code with you

There was a pause for another few minutes before the next text rolled in. In the period of waiting, Dream looked over towards his monitor once more and he realized that George was muted, with Sapnap still in the call, but silent. Odd.

**From: British George**

>> that’s cute ;) so sappy, dream

Shut the hell up, George.

Dream tugged the drawstrings of his hoodie, retreating back into himself. This was why he never had serious chats with his friends, because it always returned back to the same old teasing tone. Usually it was relieving and returned them back to a casual conversation, but right now, it felt stifling. Dream knew he’d told the truth, but of course he was omitting things as well. It would have felt better if he just said it all. But that wasn’t an option.

He stared towards the window in the room, the blinds just cracked open and daylight spilling into the bedroom between the slats. While it was bright here, it was growing dark on George’s side of the world. Dream found himself wishing that he could just laze here with George beside him, picturing the dimly lit room with the glow of the monitor reflecting off of their faces as they laid under the covers together.

Or they could be in George’s bed at night, curled up under the covers and sharing hushed laughter in the pitch black darkness. Sometimes when George fell asleep over a call, Dream found himself thinking about how peaceful George probably looked while he slept, eyelashes just brushing against his cheeks as his eyes fell shut. Or maybe he was an ugly sleeper, drool marks on the pillow and mouth thrown wide open.

Dream didn’t realize he smiled at the thought until he wiped the soft grin off of his expression. That was enough of that. These sorts of thoughts needed to stop. Maybe some sleep would help.

He unlocked his phone, lock screen of a sweater-clad Patches disappearing and giving way to the text conversation.

**To: British George**

>>Whatever. You’re dumb

>> I’m going to take a nap, call me when you guys want to play again

The response came quickly once more. It was almost as if George had his phone opened right next to him, just waiting for a reply.

**From: British George**

>> ok. sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite! :)

Dream’s eyes lingered on the three words for a little too long. At this point, he felt he was just reading into signs that weren’t even there. Surely George was just as eager to text back Sapnap or Bad. The bros always told each other to sleep well. There’s nothing there to look into.

Dream took a note to himself to engrave that mantra into his mind. As he locked his phone and set it on the other side of the bed, he pulled the covers closer around him as a makeshift embrace. It sure did suck having unrequited feelings bubble back up, but besides telling George forthright, there was little that could be done. This was probably just a fluke anyway. He’d wake up from the nap without anything plaguing his mind as insistently as George was.

\---

Then came the dream.

Usually Dream didn’t prefer naps that went longer than an hour due to the funky dreams that came along with them. At least if something happened between the two of them during one of these dreams, there’d be an excuse for the weirdness that resulted from them. Right?

So when Dream found himself laying on his side, facing the brunette on the other side of the bed that was facing right back, surely he could blame the fact that he’d been thinking about George before he fell asleep. That was the only reason that something like this would worm its way into his sleep.

The details were blurry, just as they always were. Dream couldn’t tell if the pillows beneath their heads were soft enough to sink into, nor if the sheets of the bed were grey or black or navy blue. He wasn’t focused on the little things anyway. They could be drifting in space, for all Dream cared. His breath was baited in his throat as he stared into George’s brown eyes.

For a moment, neither of them spoke, but the astral version of his best friend had a twinkle in his eyes that made Dream’s mouth dry.

“Hiiii, Dream,” George said, accentuating his vowels as he broke the silence between them.

Dream didn’t know why he was so nervous- whatever he did, there wouldn’t be any repercussions in the real world anyways- but before he responded, he swallowed, his heartbeat thrumming steadily in his chest.

“Hi, George,” was all he could muster. “How… How are you?”

George beamed. “Never better.” Then, a pause as his eyes seemed to search Dream’s face, only serving to make the blonde falter once more. “Why do you look nervous right now?”

“Because you’re two feet away from me, staring me down like a freak,” Dream answered, managing a grin that fell between sheepish and teasing. “By the way, that’s kind of gay of you, George.”

“You’re gay.” The retort was immediate, making Dream chuckle. He felt himself relax a little at the casualness of it all.

“So if I were gay, you’d still lay two feet away from me in bed?”

“I mean… Yeah. We’re bros. It’s not gay if it’s just with my bros. You know, Sapnap said we could all cuddle when we meet.”

“You remember what else Sapnap said?”

George shook his head, but the smile across his lips suggested otherwise- maybe he knew, maybe he didn't, but it looked as if he just wanted Dream to say it.

That sort of smile sent shivers running down Dream’s spine. It wasn’t suggestive, per se, but one side of George’s mouth quirked up a little more than the other. Dream had seen this smirk a few times before while poking fun at George during streams. Watching him turn from composed to a wicked grin was a little too satisfying.

Dream cleared his throat, becoming aware of the two feet becoming one as George shifted closer. And he knew what he was doing, too. That smirk didn’t subside, but grew instead.

“Sap said that you would be the small spoon and that I would be the middle spoon. Me, all up in your business.” Dream chuckled. “That’s not too gay for you?”

“Mmm, nope,” George said, accompanying his reply with a stretch. Did he move even closer or was that just Dream being paranoid? “If anything, I think I’d like that.”

At this point, the blonde was all too aware of the intimate feeling of being _oh_ _so close_. He could practically feel George’s warmth as the two laid side by side in their own dream world. With this caliber of closeness, it became difficult not to focus on the pink tint in George’s cheeks or how perfect his freckles looked up close. Or how his lips were no more than a small distance away.

Dream wondered if he was blushing just as heavily. He wondered if George was thinking the same thing about him. By the way the other man’s gaze fell lower than Dream’s eyes, it almost looked like it.

“Just you and me though, right?” George spoke, his voice softer as his gaze lingered. “I mean, I don’t want to leave Sapnap out, but… I think I’d just like to have a moment. Just us.”

Dream was frozen in place, unable to think about anything but his heartbeat in his ears and the sound of George’s breathing growing deeper. Part of him wished George would just stop and he could wake up. This wasn’t real. This _wasn’t real._

The other part of him, self indulgent and greedy as all hell, wished George would just break the space between them. The distance felt tiny compared to how they started, on opposite sides of the bed, keeping to themselves. Now? It felt like he could practically breathe him in. _Just a few inches closer, c’mon…_

George then took the moment to place his hand on Dream’s hip, causing the blonde to all but melt. But for now, this was too much. Dream felt himself waking before he could even stop himself, the image of George’s soft smile and half lidded eyes disappearing. Now he was alone, feeling chilly from the lack of warm breath and close proximity to the one he was hopelessly crushing on.

\---

Dream woke with a jolt. The cat at his feet seemed startled as she shot a glare at her owner, but just as cats do, she settled back in rather quickly. Dream, on the other hand, felt as unsettled as ever.

Was it technically an invasion of George’s privacy to have dreams like that? It technically wasn’t in Dream’s control, but at the same time, he felt it was his fault. He sat up in the bed, tugging his hoodie off as sweat made his black undershirt stick to his skin. Just as it had that morning, it felt like a cold sweat.

Had he had one of these dreams that morning too? Was that why the image of George was carved into his mind like a marble statue? On the topic of statues, George could definitely be one, if you asked the blonde; his skin just looked so soft, and imagine that iconic smile across his face…

 _Okay. Enough._ Damn it. Damn it all to hell.

Dream reached for his phone, still face down on the other side of the bed. The screen brightened to reveal that the time was a few hours later from when he’d fallen asleep. Then, below the time: 10 texts from Sapnap, 4 texts from George.

 _George._ The thought of being so close to him in the dream world made Dream nearly lose his breath. The idea of being that close in real life? That mere thought was enough to drive him mad. For now, he wasn’t going to think about it.

Hopefully this dream would disappear from his memories just as all of his past ones did. Dream scratched the back of his neck as he opened his phone to the unread messages, ignoring the flush beneath his skin that remained from thinking about George’s hand resting on his hip or the smirk that drove him crazy.

**From: Alexis Texas**

>> GET ON BRO!!!!!!!!!!

>> ARE YOU STILL ASLEEP RN

>> BRO

>> BRO

>> BRO

>> CLAY

>> CLAY MIDDLE NAME DREAM

>> WHATS YOUR MIDDLE NAME

>> BRO

>> WAKE UP

Dream shook his head at the onslaught of texts that failed to wake him up. He was honestly surprised that Sapnap hadn’t tried more than 10 texts. Usually he’d wake up with his fair share of missed calls as well. He figured he’d reply to make it worth Sap’s time.

**To: Alexis Texas**

>> Hi sorry lol. You still on?

Then, he moved onto George’s messages. His thumb lingered over the screen as he debated opening them or just leaving them unread, since George was still a sensitive topic on his mind, especially right after waking up and wanting nothing but to kiss him in the dream.

He remembered George’s hand on his hip. How the weight of it just rested there nonchalantly as if the body beneath it wasn’t rushing with confusion and desire and the need for _more_.

Dream’s heart raced beneath his sternum as he recalled the feeling. The mere idea made his head spin. Maybe he wouldn’t open the messages after all- it just felt like too much right now.

He set his phone back down and onto the bed, looking towards his untouched monitors. His eyes immediately returned to the Discord window, noticing that someone was still in the call. George. Of course.

He was muted, but still there. Dream moved to the edge of the bed and rose to his feet. How was it that four text messages felt like the end of the world, but wanting to hear George’s voice brought him a sense of comfort? His head was still spinning, but after that dream, he craved the sound of George’s voice.

He connected to the chat after fumbling a bit with his mouse, pulling his headset on in record speed as he plopped down and slumped into his chair. Before he could say anything, George spoke.

“Hiiii, Dream.” Vowels drawn out, devilish tone in his voice. He sounded just as he did in the dream.

George was going to be the death of him.


	2. you had stayed the same

The air was warm, nighttime humidity making the air feel sluggish. Every movement from the two men in the grass made was languid and lazy. Maybe it was the glistening of moonlight bouncing off of George's face, making his grin gleam brighter than Dream thought he'd ever see, or maybe it was the tickle of grass under Dream's arms, which were propped beneath his head, but the scene felt awfully real; if only it truly was, but here they were, lounging in the sleeping mind of Dream.

"Do you ever just think about how small our universe really is?" George spoke, his brown eyes lighting up with millions of stars as he stared into the unknown.

The two were stargazing. Well, George was. Dream couldn't pull his eyes off of George if he tried, but so far, it didn't look like George had noticed. Even though this was a dream, and usually remembering the details or the settings of his dreams were difficult to Dream, he took in the feeling of jagged grass beneath them, the buzz of cicadas and crickets that provided a soundtrack to their idle night, and the night sky that felt like a projection above them. It felt like they were in a technicolor film; the greens and reds and blues and whites of all the stars and planets in the great beyond seemed to be heightened. Or maybe that was just the effects of being in an otherworldly dream.

It was no wonder that Dream had started sleeping more after having those first couple dreams about George. Within the last week, he'd sleep in, hop on his PC for a bit, speak to his buddies, and maybe watch a stream or two before announcing that he was feeling pretty tired and that he'd be back after a nap. He always tried to base his sleep schedule around George's at an attempt to maximize the time he had to speak to George, but also made extra time for Sapnap, as to not make him feel like he was leaning more towards George. Sapnap usually spoke in shitty jokes and qualms of a middle schooler- he'd started saying "epic" a lot recently, to Dream's amusement, but then dismay after the hundredth time- but sometimes he had some valuable insight to give, and Dream knew he needed some of that knowledge every once in a while.

Maybe Dream was sleeping a bit too much, but it was worth it if it meant being able to see George. Dream wanted to be with George physically, but it was also this version of George that made his heartbeat quicken. It felt like an unseen side of him- an affectionate, secret side. Sometimes it felt like an invasion of privacy, but other times it felt oddly familiar. Dream just attributed this familiarity to innocent flirting between the homies. Sometimes the lines between platonic and romantic could be blurry without context of the situation.

Here, though, in his dreamworld, the context almost overwhelmed Dream. It was always crystal clear. Always coy, but chaste; though, every time the feeling of wanting went too far and made Dream's head spin, he jolted awake. It was starting to feel like a curse.

"Dream," George spoke flatly, and Dream was drawn from his mindless thoughts as his eyes focused in on the image of George staring right back at him, a lazy grin lifting the corner of his lips. 

"Sorry, sorry," Dream answered, clearing his throat and feigning interest in the sky as he looked upwards for a moment, but eyes ultimately turning right back down to George. "I wasn't listening. What did you say?" 

George playfully punched the blonde's shoulder, laughing. "Damn you. I said, do you ever just think about how small our universe really is?"

"I mean, _no_. If it's infinite and getting bigger all the time, what makes you think it's small?" 

"Just think about it. Our whole universe could just be a simulation. Or a cell in the body of a creature in a whole other universe. Or a dust speck on a flower, like in 'Horton Hears a Who.'"

Dream chuckled, crossing his legs and staring back up at the sky, as George had gone back to doing the same. Maybe George was right- everything could just be a farce- but maybe all this was real, too. Maybe they were in a whole other universe while they were asleep and dreaming, but dream George felt just like real George. It felt so similar, too much for this to be _just_ a dream.

"I never saw that movie, George," Dream announced after a second of thought, his eyes attaching to an airplane with slow-blinking lights crossing the starry sky. "I think I tried when I was younger, but got bored of it. Too many moral lessons."

George laughed again, but didn't respond. The moment, suspended in humidity and the song of summer insects, felt intimate and soft. Dream snuck a glance over at the brunette one more time, unafraid of being caught staring now that George had already caught him once. His eyes were still glittering, as if they were stars themselves, and his lips were parted as he relaxed into the itchy grass. Thank God this wasn't real life, because they'd get up and be covered in itchy bug bites. Dream could picture it: them rising to their feet, George making some dumb remark about being itchy as hell, and Dream laughing at him scratch frantically at the bare skin on his arms and ankles.

His eyes falling lower, he studied the few freckles that extended low enough to fall onto George's neck, and then one that rested in the nook between George's neck and shoulder. The collar of his white t-shirt was stretched the slightest bit, exposing one of his collarbones. This could be one of the most innocent body parts, but Dream still felt his cheeks heat up. Oh, to close the few feet of space between them and rest his face into George's neck and just stay with the one lone freckle that resided there. They could lay here beneath the night sky, two insignificant individuals in the grand scheme of the ever-expanding universe, but everything to each another.

Alas, Dream stayed exactly where he was, his eyes moving back up to take in the night sky once again. He looked up a second too fast, just missing the faint dusting of pink that rose to George's face.

Dream's green eyes drank in the sights of the sky, from twinkling constellations to the full moon above them. After a few moments of trying to locate and remember the name of a couple of the constellations, aside from some of the easy ones he recalled seeing on the Internet at some point, he felt the burning feeling of eyes landing upon him. For a moment, he ignored it, figuring George was just messing with him or having a look just as Dream did moments earlier, but when he gave in and looked over, George's features were softened with fondness, his eyes shining as bright as ever.

He looked _beautiful_. 

"You know, Dream," George spoke once more, after a gap of silence between the two. "Even though the universe is as big as you say it is, it's still small enough that it brought you to me."

For a moment, Dream couldn't find the words to reply, rendered speechless from the adoring look in those brown eyes and the mixed signals from the words George had spoken. He managed to remember this was a dream, and that feeling allowed Dream to relax. It was the feeling of surrealism: this could be real, but it wasn't. Dream wished he could grab George's shirt and smash their lips together in a kiss that would make all of Dream's confusion and reverence known, but with the way his heart sped up whenever he made even the smallest gesture towards George, he knew he'd be pulled from this dream world quicker than be able to protest. He wanted to spend more time in this starry-eyed, affectionate moment anyways.

For now, all Dream could do was pull one of his arms from beneath his head and just barely stroke George's cheek in an affectionate, but not overstepping, gesture. Sparks ran up his arm and through his entire body at the movement, and for a moment Dream worried he'd ignite into a star himself, burning white with hot passion and longing that resided within every cell in his body. From the way George's grin lit up, his pale face going bright red, it almost looked like they'd be newly lit stars alongside each other. At least that meant spending more time with George.

Dream leaned onto his side, cupping George's cheek in one hand. He almost felt as if he'd be pulled up and out of the astral, plopped right back into his own body, but was able to ground himself by stroking George's cheek with his thumb. The roughness of his stubble felt comforting. It felt like home. Green eyes met brown, but Dream couldn't read the look in George's eyes. It felt blurred, almost unrecognizable. It was almost time to wake up.

"George," Dream finally answered, "Even if we die, even if we reincarnate in the biggest, most confusing universe of all time- I'll always find you."

George leaned into the hand resting on his face, a coy smile crossing his lips. The same bashful blush stained his face, eyes glimmering. "You will?"

"Always." 

As the world began disintegrating around them, Dream didn't focus on the dimming of the stars above them or the sensation of the grass beneath them disappearing. All he knew, in that moment, were a pair of gleaming brown eyes, a smatter of freckles, and how these dreams were really making him feel like he _needed_ George to be with him.

\- - -

Dream woke slowly, a warmth emanating from his core and spreading to every centimeter of his body. As his dream started fading from his memory, the feeling of grass and softness and pining ebbing, all the blonde could do was roll over and bury his face into his pillow and let out a heavy sigh.

This was going to be tough to get control of. 

\- - -

Today demanded many things of Dream: video editing, laundry, and errands. Being productive sounded nice, but in the moment, Dream could only stare at the Premiere window on his monitor that contained the raw footage from last week's video. George and Sapnap had encouraged him to hurry up and get the video out, and even spent a fraction of yesterday cheering him on and telling him to edit it already, but the amount of footage that needed to be trimmed and audio that needed to be adjusted started to discourage, rather than inspire, him to begin. 

Still, here he was, sat in front of his monitors. On one, Discord was at the forefront, just as it always was, and the one in front of him boasted his editing software. He fiddled with the collar of his t-shirt as he pondered putting the video off longer or simply forcing himself to get to it. Maybe some fresh air would help.

Dream pushed himself and his chair away from the desk, sauntering over to the window next to the desk. He drew the blinds and opened the window, almost regretful of his decision when salty, humid air poured into his room, but the humidity served as a faint reminder to his soft dream the night before. The mere thought made his heart skip a beat as he raised his hand to his own cheek, then his lips. What would have happened if he stayed in the dream, even just for a little longer? Why was his mind so insistent on pulling him out of scenarios he so desperately craved? He could have tasted George's lips, tugged at his soft hair, and even kissed every freckle in sight. If only.

This thought made Dream's face go hot and he dropped his hand to his side. He couldn't spend another day acting awkward in a voice call with the subject of his dreams. As much as George's voice cleared his mind and made Dream feel comfortable, it also made his thoughts go a million miles an hour. It all depended on the situation, and when the semblance of flirting came up, he found himself unable to respond as he'd been able to before his feelings started rekindling. Dream longed for the days when effortless platonic banter came so easily. Now, George said one thing about Dream being adorable and Dream felt himself freeze up.

Deciding to spend yet another day repressing his feelings towards the brunette, Dream returned to his chair. A handful of Discord notifications caught his eye when he sat down.

**Sapnap**

>> vc 4  
>> vc 4  
>> get on rn

He knew he'd end up being spammed again if he stayed online without responding or joining the call, so Dream pulled on his headset and clicked into the chat that contained Sapnap and George.

"-AND THEN, he literally killed me! I swear Tommy has never hit an MLG water bucket that good in his life, I swear," George all but shouted into the headset, and it was apparent that Dream was interrupting a heated conversation between the two that were already in the call.

"I'm surprised you were even on the SMP," Sapnap answered, laughing. "Ever since the war that you _didn't even go to_ , I thought you'd just be done after you built your wannabe hobbit house. You're like a cottagecore TikTok girl or something." 

"Oh, whatever, Sapnap. I barely see you on the SMP either, so you can't even say anything!"

"You can't see me on there because you're never on it!" There was a pause, and then a realization. "Oh!! Hi, Dream! When did you get here?"

"Dream! Hi!" George seemed just as excited to talk to his friend, but the sound of his voice made Dream's heart rate pick up.

"I've only been here a second," Dream replied, his eyes falling back on his other monitor. "I'm still trying to edit this video, but every time I try, I just... can't. The footage is really funny and it's going to be a good video, but I just have no inspiration."

His hand moved to his mouse, poised to take the first step and at least make sure the voiceover he'd recorded at the beginning of the video was viable, but all he could do was flick the cursor back and forth. Maybe he was stumped because he couldn't go five seconds without thinking about George, or his voice, or how his eyes looked when they were lit up with stars. Still, it was unfair to his friends to not work on the video. He knew they were excited to see it go up.

"You can do it, man," Sapnap said, and Dream heard him typing away on the other end. "You always get through your slumps, and the videos always look great. I would say get an editor, but I know you think it feels most like you when you edit the videos."

George laughed on his end, but Dream didn't know what Sap said that was funny. There was typing from George's end now, and when it silenced, Dream chewed his lip nervously, wondering if he'd done something wrong. The feeling of not being included in their secret conversation gave him massive FOMO.

"You're right. I just feel like the stuff I put out is best when I'm the one editing them from beginning to end." Dream paused, leaning back in his chair and staring up at his ceiling. "It's just a personal thing. I feel like I haven't been thinking straight."

"What's wrong?" George asked, his words containing a vague note of concern. "Is there anything we can do to help? We could even help edit it, too, if that's what you need?"

The offer made Dream's face warm. He was extremely grateful for his friends, but sometimes just hyperfixating on something for a couple of hours was the best way he could be productive. Sticking to it for a few hours without distractions would surely get it done, and if he didn't like how it turned out, he'd give it a day and start from scratch.

"I appreciate the offer," Dream answered, straightening up in his chair. "But I think I'm going to work on it right now and not stop until it's done. It's not, like, a ton of footage, either, so I think it'll be done soon, and we can even get it put out tonight if it's done in time. Or I can schedule a YouTube preview tomorrow morning or something."

He heard more typing from Sapnap's end before the man actually spoke, obviously distracted. "Oh.. Er, yeah. That should work. You got this, man!"

"Yeah, you got it, Dream. I believe in you," George added. Dream wondered if he recognized a familiar fondness in his tone, but felt like he was probably just reading into it too far; his mind was still swimming from the remnants of the dream from last night. He didn't want to project dream George onto real George, and certainly didn't want to overstep anything with his purely platonic friend.

"Thank you," Dream replied almost meekly, much too aware of his sheepish tone. "I'll be done soon. I'll call you guys when I'm done."

"Good luck!" George said, and then Dream disconnected from the call, turning his full attention back to the monitor in front of him. It was time to get shit done.

But he realized, after he poised his hands over the keyboard and muscle memory of clipping and dragging clips didn't kick in immediately, that he might need some tunes in order to get himself in the editing mood. Minimizing Discord on his second monitor, he pulled up Spotify instead and found some random mood playlist to set his productivity to work. 

The music definitely helped get him in the mood, as Dream found himself slowly but surely gaining momentum as he started clicking and editing various clips. The thrum of bass lines, percussion beats, and soft vocals rang in his headset and through the speakers on his desk, and when accompanied with the smell of summer air, he felt unstoppable as he worked on the video. It became progressingly more easy for him to find which clip went where and the perfect spot for each one as he continued editing, and as minutes turned into hours, the finished product began coming together.

A particular song buried itself in his mind, though, during the time he worked on the video. _Meet Me At Our Spot_ by Willow, THE ANXIETY, and Tyler Cole scrolled by at the bottom of his second monitor.

As the bass in the song began, followed by fervent, frustrated female vocals, Dream found himself loving the harmonies that developed with the addition of a male singer and an upbeat, carefree chorus. He listened to the song play once, then replayed it once more, then simply set the song on loop for a few runs just to hear it played on repeat.

_When I wake up  
_ _I can't even stay up  
_ _I slept through the day, fuck  
_ _I'm not getting younger_

When he was about halfway to three quarters done, Dream's phone buzzed next to him on the desk. A Snapchat from George. His face lit up as he picked up the phone and unlocked it at record speed, tapping into the picture once the app loaded.

The picture he received was a selfie, George grinning contently with his new kitten in his arms. Down near the bottom of the screen, a banner of text read, "Cat and George say to hurry up and get the video done!!!!!!!" Dream could only laugh to himself, butterflies in his stomach and a warm feeling flooding his body. While the cat was awfully cute, seeing George's face without asking was always a welcomed sight. Especially now that Dream's inner consciousness swam in an ocean of George and everything about George, he couldn't get the thought of that soft smile off his mind.

Dream sent back a video snap of the computer screen, zooming in on the task bar with the edited footage. He added the text, "I'm trying to, don't distract me" and sent it off to the brunette.

It took a moment to get refocused after the Snapchat. Dream wished he could have screenshotted the adorable picture, but opted not to in fear that George would think it was weird. It became a lot more about overthinking simple actions after Dream started crushing on his best friend, but surely the feelings would go away in due time if he simply tried to keep them hidden for as long as possible. He felt that a confession might be mandatory in due time, to get it all off his chest if the feelings kept building, but he figured that George would never return the same feelings, so what was the point of bringing them up? 

Whatever. Now was not the time to get lost in thought; things needed to get done. Somewhat flustered, the blonde restarted the song that was filling his empty space as he returned back to his task, resuming what he'd been working on before becoming a blushing mess from one Snapchat.

_But when I'm older  
_ _I'll be so much stronger  
_ _I'll stay up for longer  
_ _Meet me at our spot_

After a total of three and a half hours, the 46-minute video was completed. Dream added the finishing touches to the video as the lyrics to his new favorite song rang out in his head and on the speakers for probably the thirtieth time. If there was one thing about Dream, it was that he would play a song that he loved until he hated it, and he was still in love with this particular one.

It made him think of George. _Of course it did._

He paused the music, returning to Discord. George was nowhere to be found, and with it being quite late on his side of the pond, Dream assumed he was asleep. However, Sapnap still remained in the channel, which Dream clicked into with a smile.

"I'm baaaack!" Dream announced, feeling energized now that he'd completed the project that was draining him all week. "Video's done. Do you want to see it early?"

Sapnap, previously on mute, hit the button to make himself heard. "Good going, big guy! George and I were just talking. I bet him that you'd get it done tomorrow, and he said you'd be done tonight. I owe him five bucks!"

Dream chuckled, leaning back in his chair again with his hands behind his head as he stretched his stiff back. "For real? You guys are stupid. I can't believe you thought I wouldn't do it tonight."

"I dunno, man. You sounded like you were pretty stuck earlier. That's why George sent you that cat pic for inspiration. He told me it'd work, and I guess he was right." Sapnap paused, laughing. "Would it have worked if I sent you one, too?"

"Yeah! Why didn't you?" A content grin settled upon Dream's lips as he glanced over at his phone. The screen lit up- a new snap from George. So he _was_ still up. He figured he'd get to it in a moment; getting flustered on call with Sap was just going to earn him some humiliation points.

"I'll send you one next time. I was really betting on you getting done tomorrow." A pause. "Okay, I'm kidding. I think I knew deep down you'd finish tonight. Can you send me a link or the file or something? I wanna watch it."

"Of course. Let me know if it's good and I think I'll premiere it tomorrow if it is." Dream moved back to his primary monitor, packaging up the file into the smallest it could be so it wouldn't take Sapnap a terribly long time to get it downloaded and opened. "I think there's still a couple things I could do, but I don't know. I'm happy with it." 

"Okay! I'll let you know. Let me watch it and get back to you," Sapnap answered.

There were some instances where Dream wanted to strangle his friends, but in times like these, he couldn't be more grateful for them. He was infinitely thankful for their company and for their feedback. He'd do anything for any single one of them, especially the one he happened to be falling for; it just had to be that the figure that frequented his dreams was one of his closest friends. It made Dream wonder if Sapnap, George, and him would still be as close if two of them ended up together.

What if it wasn't Dream and George that ended up together, though? As Dream loaded up the file to send over to Sapnap, a twinge of jealousy paled his upbeat mood. Earlier the two had been typing back and forth in a private conversation. Surely George and Dream or Sapnap and Dream did the same during calls or during streams, but right now, it felt a little daunting when Dream was feeling some particularly sensitive feelings. Would it break the friendship if George and Sapnap even ended up together? Could Dream manage that sort of jealousy after he'd come to the realization that his feelings were too strong to shake away?

He sent the file to Sapnap, choosing to once again push all those thoughts away from the forefront of his mind. "It's sent."

"Thanks so much!" Sapnap answered, as chipper as ever. He didn't know what was running through Dream's head. "Be right back, okay?"

"Sounds good, thank you again," Dream replied, trying to force himself back into the upbeat mood the video's completion had left him in. He found his attempt to be unsuccessful. "Actually, I think I'm going to go AFK for a bit. I'm sick of looking at a computer screen."

"Oh, okay. I'll talk to you as soon as you get back!"

Dream disconnected, taking his headset off and returning it back to its place on the desk. He set the computer on sleep mode and stood up, figuring it was time to knock out some of the other chores he had been meaning to do before getting swept up into editing. First: laundry. After that: groceries.

\- - -

Laundry was easy: it was grabbing the articles of clothes littered across the floor of his bedroom, as well as a few stray articles under the bed or elsewhere in the room, and tossing them into his hamper to drag downstairs and into the laundry room. As Dream hustled down the stairs, he greeted his mother, who was sitting at the counter of the kitchen island and intently reading something on her laptop. He then stumbled into the laundry room, his bag of clothes nearly tripping him up. He tossed chamomile-scented detergent into the washer, followed by the clothes that needed washed, and then set the wash cycle. That was it for that task so far- much less of a task than editing a whole entire 46-minute video.

Leaving his hamper in that room, he went back upstairs to get ready to go out. The sight of himself in the mirror was a little off-putting; his hair was littered with cowlicks sticking in every which way and there were dark bags under his eyes. He combed through his dirty blonde hair with his fingers, brushed his teeth, and washed his face, which eased up the problem and made his appearance look a little less haggard. 

Dream took a second to just stare at himself in the mirror once he was done. He wondered if George ever had dreams about him, and if a mirror self of Dream popped up in George's dream world. Maybe George stared across the constellations of freckles that painted Dream's cheeks, or gazed into his green eyes with an adoration reserved for only him. Maybe George was having those same pining feelings of longing and fondness and biting jealousy every once and a while. Dream knew it was a long shot, but the idea of George reciprocating the feelings that he was experiencing would be nothing short of a dream. 

Oh, if only. There wasn't time to think on it much now; groceries awaited.

The blonde changed into a pair of black ripped skinny jeans and a tie-dyed rock t-shirt, finishing the look with a pair of Vans sneakers and a chain belt and calling it good. He took pride in the way he dressed, even if it was a little too eboy-esque, but there was nothing anyone could do about it, no matter how much Sapnap poked at him for being an eboy. Dream wasn't going to take shit from a cowboy, anyways.

He was out the door after asking if his mother or sister wanted anything aside from what was on the shopping list from the store, hopping into his truck and hooking his phone up to the aux as soon as the car door closed behind him. He queued up the same song he'd been listening to earlier, putting it on repeat again, and it served as an excellent soundtrack on his way to the store. He lost his mind in the lyrics and in the overall relaxed vibe of the song, the image of George's prior Snapchat in the back of his mind as a reminder that made him smile to himself.

_Caught a vibe  
_ _Baby, are you coming for the ride?  
_ _I just want to look into your eyes  
I just want to stay for the night, night, night_

As soon as he parked, Dream pulled up Snapchat once more, remembering George had sent something earlier but he'd never answered. He opened the picture: the upper half of George's face and him holding up a thumbs up. No text. Even with a lack of substance to the reply, just seeing George's eyes lit up in the picture made his heart beat a little quicker.

Though he knew George was definitely asleep by now- it was now nearing 8 p.m. in Florida and George wasn't a humongous fan of staying up really late if there wasn't something he was staying up for- Dream figured he'd answer back anyways. He took a picture of himself in the driver's seat of the truck with a thumbs up to mirror George's and sent it back without any text. 

George had absolutely seen what Dream looked like before, but even sending full-face pictures now still made Dream squeamish. He didn't know why it made him so nervous- maybe it was just a matter of feeling the need to look cute in pictures for George- but the picture was sent anyways before he could second guess or stop himself.

Dream popped his Airpods into his ears, locked his truck, and headed into the store. His little shopping trip, which was mostly to distract himself anyways, was accompanied by the same song that had narrated his entire day.

_When we take a drive  
Maybe we can hit the 405  
Hypnotized by the lights  
Man, this must be the life_

He got a snap back about twenty minutes later, finding himself pondering in front of the nut milks in the dairy coolers. To stick to oat milk or to try cashew milk was the question. However, the second he heard the notification ring through his earbuds, he grabbed for his pocket to see who was contacting him. He'd been worried it was his sister demanding a last-second ice cream add-on to the list, but it was George. 

Dream felt a little alarmed that George was up at this hour, but he opened the snap nevertheless. It was a black screen with text: "so cute dream"

Hey, who put a tomato in the dairy aisle? Dream's face lit up bright red, and it was almost a relief knowing that George was unable to see him, because those three words rendered Dream's brain completely useless. It shouldn't have- it was innocent, and probably just teasing- but he couldn't help it when his crush sent him the reaction he'd definitely been trying to earn when sending a full-face picture earlier. The milk dilemma was forgotten as Dream tapped the screen, taking a picture of his half-full cart and typing up: "Why are you up right now?"

He tried to forget about it as he shoved the phone in his pocket and just went with the oat milk, moving on to the next item on the paper list that was now clenched in his clammy hand. He heard the notification when he got to the next aisle over, but ignored it until after he checked out, loaded up the truck with the groceries, and hopped back into the vehicle. He wasn't going to risk another red-faced incident in the supermarket. The stockers would probably think he was insane.

Dream opened it: another black screen, reading, "idk, just woke up randomly. had a dream but I'm going to try to go back to sleep. also, oat milk is gross, BYE" 

Dream was left blushing in his truck, staring at the screen even after the black screen had departed. He imagined George in the darkness of his room, face illuminated from the light of Dream's selfie on his phone. What if George looked at it and felt butterflies, just as Dream did whenever he saw George? 

George had also said he'd had a dream, which intrigued Dream. Obviously it was something of significance, as he doubted George would have brought it up had it not been. If it were some obscure dream that he forgot when he woke up, it wouldn't have been worth mentioning. Dream bit his lip as he imagined the possibilities, but he had frozen food in the back of the truck that needed to get home, so he quickly sent something back and got to driving.

Another selfie, a cheeky grin- with his cheeks a little pink, but Dream chose to ignore that- and the words, "Sweet dreams!" He didn't receive a response, assuming George was fast asleep on the other end.

\- - -

After he got home and unloaded the groceries, as well as devouring a quick dinner, Dream headed back upstairs and got right back on Discord. Sapnap was still on, muted again. Dream plopped onto his chair and joined the call.

"Hey," he said after pulling his mic down to unmute himself. "You there?"

An empty pause, then Sapnap followed suit. "Yeah! Welcome back, man! I watched the video."

"Thanks! So... what'd you think?"

"It was really great, I think!" Sapnap sounded ecstatic on the other end. "I laughed out loud like five times watching it. I'll just say that all that suffering was worth it to see the finished product, because it sucked in the moment, but it's funny when it's not actually happening to me."

Dream couldn't contain his prideful grin. "I'm really happy you liked it. I thought the finished product was pretty sweet."

"I really agree. You were upset about not being as hyper as we were in the video, but I think it was a good balance, since George and I were screaming at the top of our lungs half the time. Good job, Dream."

"You too, Sapnap," Dream answered, still beaming. "So, premiere tomorrow?"

"Hell yeah, man! Oh, by the way, though... George and I need to tell you something kinda important tomorrow."

What the hell?

No, what the _fuck_?

The worst popped into Dream's mind, even though he knew he was irrational to immediately be furious about an outcome he didn't actually know, especially because it was his best friends. He knew his feelings were George were starting to cloud his judgement, so he took a breath to ground himself before he could actually respond to Sapnap. Dream knew it wasn't his worst fear- there was no way that they were together- but what if it was something along those lines? 

His mind returned to the two's private conversation earlier, accompanied by stifled laughter over the mic, as if they didn't want Dream to hear them. Again, Dream felt he was overthinking, but when his mind was constantly George, George, George, it was hard to not worry that it was something involved with him. Dream swallowed, his throat dry, and unclenched the hands in his lap that he didn't realize had tensed. He knew that it was useless to get mad at Sapnap now, especially considering that he didn't know what they were actually going to tell him, but he became aware that he hadn't said anything for a moment too long. Sapnap was starting to get suspicious.

"...Dream?" That confirmed it.

"Yeah, no, I'm sorry," Dream answered, suppressing the feeling of his heartbeat pounding angrily against his sternum. "I... Just let me know what it is tomorrow. I'll set up the premiere for tomorrow at 11 a.m. PST and you can watch it if you want to." 

"...Okay." Sapnap had definitely picked up on the underlying passive-aggression that Dream had tried to mask. "You good?"

"Yeah, just a long day. I'm really tired."

Sapnap didn't respond, and instead just offering an affirming grunt from the other end. Dream felt guilt run over him in waves and he buried his face in his hands, afraid he'd gone too far. He didn't mean to be snappy with his words, but when it came to George? He'd do anything for him. But hurting Sapnap for George was too much.

"I'm gonna get off, I think," Dream said, letting his hands fall back into his lap. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, then." 

"Talk to you tomorrow, Dream," Sapnap answered, which made Dream feel even more guilty. God, he kinda fucked up.

It was barely 10 p.m. in Florida, but the second Dream disconnected, he shut down his PC and peeled off his jeans. Maybe it was the humid air creeping in through the window or the humiliation of lashing out at one of his best friends, but guilt mulled over his mind and made him feel nauseous and clammy. After flicking off the lights in his room, the room falling dark beside the dim, warm lighting of a street light through the window, he hopped into bed and buried himself in the covers.

Despite his inner turmoil, sleep came easily.

\- - -

Tonight, they were back in bed. 

Dream was noticeably more withdrawn on his side of the bed, laying on his back and staring at the blank ceiling, whereas George was turned towards him with the same old devilish grin on his face. The George in these dreams was so open and flirtatious that sometimes Dream worried he was projecting his feelings onto dream George. He really just wanted George to seem as real as possible. That was all he could ask for- not someone that looked like George, but didn't _feel_ like him. 

After a few moments of silence between them, Dream's eyes drifted over to the brunette, whose smile only grew after he noticed Dream was looking over towards him. This felt like a parallel of last night's dream. But even within their own little world, Dream still felt overwhelmed with guilt. He wish he'd apologized to Sapnap before he'd logged off, or at least done something to ease the tension between them in the call. This was all because of George, indirectly, and Dream felt awfully aware that his silly little crush had caused all this. 

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Dream asked, feeling butterflies take flight in his abdomen, but he was unable to force a smile onto his face.

"'Cause you're cute," George answered, which didn't cause a smile, but instead a fiery blush to appear on Dream's cheeks.

There it was again: cute. Cute could mean "cute as a button" or "I kind of want to kiss you" or "You're hot and let's bone" and Dream was already too distracted by other things in the moment to deliberate the possibilities. One thing was for sure: George calling him cute made Dream feel like he could run a marathon. He needed to run a couple of laps around the house or something. He just couldn't sit still at the mere thought of George hinting at something romantic- something reciprocated.

Dream shifted on his side of the bed, visibly a little uncomfortable as he tried not to ignore his prior guilt to get lost in George's eyes or his smile or his _lips_. He wondered if he just rolled over and leaned in if George would let him kiss him until they were both breathless. If this was a dream, why didn't he just try? It wasn't like this had any impact on real life or the real relationship between them. Well, the latter wasn't necessarily true, but Dream couldn't stop himself from wondering what it'd be like to _just try_.

"You're cute when you're flustered," George repeated, and Dream didn't think his mischievous expression could get even naughtier, but it did.

"S-Shut up, George." His face went even hotter and he covered his face with his hands. Of course George had to say some cheeky shit like that to just make it even worse. It was almost frustrating.

"I mean it." Dream felt George grow closer, but couldn't see what George was doing before Dream peeked between his fingers. George's face grew closer, his shit-eating grin evident that he was absolutely finding pleasure in messing with the blonde.

If this was just a dream, if this wasn't real, why didn't he try? _Just try._ The mantra rang over and over and over in Dream's head until the words didn't feel like words anymore. They didn't make sense- this didn't make sense. This George felt real. Dream could smell his cologne and feel his breath from such close proximity, and it made his head spin. He felt like he was drunk on George; Dream couldn't make sense of his thoughts or feelings, it was all just _George._

He let his hands drop, staring George in those twinkling brown eyes. No matter how evil George looked right now, Dream could still recall stars in his eyes and the formation of constellations in the freckles across his nose and cheeks. His eyes fell down briefly to make sure that single freckle on his neck was still there, and God, it was. If he tried to lean in and press his face into George and press light kisses onto the skin there, would George let him? If he moved lower, would George let him?

"Whatcha looking at?" George teased, resting his hand on Dream's hip, just as he'd done in that first dream.

The feeling of euphoria and overstimulation returned to Dream as he felt his breath catch in his throat. He couldn't stop himself, and George absolutely noticed, as evident by the little laugh he let out. Dream was sure his face couldn't go any redder at this point.

"You... You fucking drive me crazy, George," Dream said, turning towards the brunette and eyes taking in every inch of his face. He couldn't help himself at this point- George was here, and he was complimenting him, and he was inviting him in. George's nails dug into his hip, drawing a ragged breath from Dream, and at this point, he wasn't about to stop himself from making it known that he wanted nothing but George. All of him.

George's expression softened, but it wasn't out of sweetness or chasteness; his half-lidded gaze fell to Dream's lips as his hand trailed up the blonde's side before coming to rest on Dream's chin. George grabbed him there, aligning Dream's face directly with his own. At this point, their lips were a tiny breadth apart; all it would take was a small nudge forward for them to meet. Dream still resisted. It was such a minor gap to bridge, but he still felt hesitation, despite the red-hot desire creeping all through his body.

"What are you going to do about it, Clay?" George asked, his smirk returning as his eyes rose to meet with Dream's once more.

It was as if the floodgates had opened; Dream's hesitation was contained within a glass jar labeled "Don't Kiss Your Best Friend in Your Dreams, It Might Be Crossing a Boundary," but all of the contents within it had become too much, and the glass had shattered. Dream leaned into the kiss eagerly, pressing their lips together with the intention of showing George all the frustration, tension, desire, and longing that he was causing him.

Dream crawled on top, never once disconnecting their impassioned kiss, and George's arms tangled around Dream's neck as Dream leaned down into the loose embrace, much too aware of the arousal beneath his belt, but paying it no mind; right now it was about George. It always had been.

It always had been.

Dream jolted awake in a cold sweat. 

Fuck.

\- - -

Needless to say, Dream did not sleep the rest of the night.

He'd been rudely awakened at 3 in the morning, and he was still deciding if he was grateful if his dream was interrupted or if it was an utter crime to be drawn out of his biggest fantasy. Part of him still worried that making a move on George on his dreams would greatly impact how he saw George in reality, but part of him was begging to be indulgent and to kiss George and to make him feel good. Still, it _wasn't_ George- just a George that existed within his imagination. Not the real George. Not the one Dream wanted with all of his being.

But God, it felt so real. Dream wished it were.

He'd pulled himself out of bed at around 6 after having himself a little pity party slash existential crisis for a few hours, doing nothing but staring at the ceiling and tossing and turning beneath the covers that felt all-too hot after such a steamy dream. No matter how many times he closed his eyes and willed the dream to return to him, craving the taste and soft feeling of George's lips, he couldn't get back to it, much less get another wink of sleep. 

A cold shower was most fitting for these sexually frustrating times. The water was bitingly chilly and brought a shiver down Dream's spine as he mindlessly went about cleaning himself, but he couldn't help himself from taking longer than usual to be done. With the feeling of arousal looming and ever present, he couldn't help but stay in the freezing water until his mind screamed at him to get the hell out- yet still, as he stepped out of the shower, all he could think about was getting on top of George and kissing the sense out of him. 

In a way, he'd needed that. Built-up tension needed release. Dream returned to his desk after getting dry and throwing on a pair of Gators sweats, staring at the screens before him, but finding himself unable to do anything. The premiere was already set up, so he didn't have to worry about that, but he probably couldn't be productive right now for the life of him. George was on his mind more than ever. Dream knew if he clicked into Discord, George would already be online, but the idea of speaking to him right now felt alarming more than it did comforting. "Hey, George, I just had a horny dream about you. What's up, boo?"

He reached for his phone next. No notifications, aside from some social media nonsense that he didn't really care about. However, when Dream tapped into the Twitch app, the first content creator on the screen was George.

George wasn't just online, he was streaming. Fuck.

Dream pulled up the webpage on his monitor, putting George's stream fullscreen. The sight of George's face in the corner of the screen made his mouth go dry as Dream's eyes took in every feature of George's face, falling most prominently on George's lips that Dream knew so well, but also didn't at the very same time.

George was messing around on the SMP server, which was a surprise because he rarely got on the server anyways. The brunette looked as cheery as ever as he messed around in his new hobbit house that he was oh so proud of; it looked like he was expanding it into a basement with a little more of an ominous feeling, which gave Dream his first genuine smile of the day. A violent dungeon beneath an outwardly ethereal home. It seemed like a representation of George himself: innocent and beautiful on the outside, but a little freaky demon on the inside.

He went back and forth with himself for a moment, but ultimately, Dream typed in the chat: "Wow, sex dungeon? Nice one George"

The chat flew by as soon as he'd commented, seeing variations of "HI DREAM" and "LMAOOOO" and "POG." When George saw it though, his face completely lit up. It made Dream beam right back at the screen in front of him.

"Dream, get in Discord right now!!!" George exclaimed, his attention turning back towards his weapon dungeon or sex dungeon or whatever the crudely carved out hole beneath his house was going to become. 

Not one to argue, Dream opened Discord on his second monitor, the sound of George thanking donors playing in the background. Dream was thankful he was feeling more at ease now, attributing his clarity to the long cold shower, and quickly opened their Discord server to see a couple people online, notably Sapnap. Seeing him in the chat this early surprised the blonde, but also put him on edge as he remembered the night before. He connected tentatively, reaching for his headset.

Sapnap posted a comment in the chat before Dream could even unmute.

 **Sapnap  
** >> he's about to get off stream 

**Dream  
>> **We about to talk abt what you said last night?  
>> I'm sorry for being a dick

 **Sapnap  
>> **yessir  
>> It's okay, i know you had a long day  
>> i love you bro ;)

Oh, Sapnap.

When George gave the okay for them to hop into chat, he sounded nervous, which Dream felt apprehensive about. Hearing Sapnap assure him that there was nothing to be worried about made him feel even more tense.

"Okay, so Sapnap and I decided something," George said, speaking slowly as if he were still a little anxious. "Sap... Do you want to say it?"

Sapnap laughed, but he sounded like he was in the opposite mood as he began speaking quickly and almost as if he were hyper. "I'll say it! Dream, we decided something."

After a pause, perhaps to gauge Dream's response, the blonde rolled his eyes, pushing his uneasiness to the side. "Spit it out then!"

"Okay, okay," Sapnap said, giggling again as if he were a prepubescent teenager. "George is moving to Texas."

Multiple emotions ran through Dream's head: excitement, because one of his best friends were moving all the way over to the United States to be closer to them and anxiety, because his crush and best friend was moving all the way over to the United States to be closer to _him_. For a moment, Dream was speechless. That was quite the bomb for Sapnap to drop on him at 7 in the morning.

"What?" Dream answered, unable to mask the pure shock behind his voice. "Since when? When did you guys figure that out?"

"We finalized it yesterday. We're going to buy a house, Dream. We found the place, and George is coming here in two months. It's kind of a fixer upper, but we think as long as it has wifi and room for streaming and we can make it look really cool, we're down. It has a really big backyard. We can get a dog! ...Oh, and you're moving in with us too." 

George popped in, sounding hesitant. It was a huge contrast to Sapnap's overwhelming enthusiasm. "If... If he wants."

Moving in with his two best friends in the whole world? The two he trusted with anything in his life? One of them being his platonic soulmate, and the other he just made out with in his dreams?

"I'm down."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiii :D sorry this chapter is a week late, but here ya go! i hope it makes up for the wait! stay safe & healthy, my friends <3

**Author's Note:**

> hi guys :D !!
> 
> i'm so excited to put this out there because it really got my creative juices flowing again for the first time in a REALLY long time. i hope you like it.
> 
> i, of course, have to credit tbhyourelame for inspiring me with their amazingly written fic, Heat Waves. if you haven't read it yet, wyd? i'm usually not one to ship people irl but the way they wrote that fic... zoo wee mama. i'm obsessed. thank you so much for inspiring me to write again. :,)
> 
> thank you also to guh & clara for cheering me on from the very first word i typed !!! i love you guys. and thank u clara for editing for me! editor of tha year award
> 
> let me know if you want to see more! thanks for reading <3


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